Wire guide device



Jan. 3, 1956 C. Q. BAETZ WIRE GUIDE DEVICE Filed Feb. 4, 1954 INVENTbR.

BY W/%U WIRE GUIDE DEVICE Clarence O. Baetz, Appleton, Wis., assignor to Gilbert ash Company, Menasha, Wis, a corporation of WIS- cousin Application February 4, 1954, Serial No. 408,115

7 Claims. (Cl. 74-240) This invention relates to wire or felt guide mechanisms for controlling the sidewise movement of wires or felts of paper making machines, and more particularly to palm blades employed to engage the edge of such wires or felts.

As palm blades of Wire or felt guide mechanisms are in constant frictional engagement with the side edges of wires or felts during operation of paper making machines and tend to wear away the edges of the wires or felts, it is desirable to provide a palm blade adapted to minimize such wear and thus prolong the service life of the wires and felts.

If, for any reason, a guide mechanism becomes ineffective to control sidewise movement of a wire or felt during operation of a paper making machine, it is desirable to provide a palm blade adapted to be moved to an inoperative position, without tearing or otherwise damaging the wire or felt.

An object of the invention resides in the provision of a rotatable palm disk for engagement against one edge of a wire or felt, the disk being so formed and mounted as to offer minimum frictional resistance to the movement of a wire or felt to thereby materially increase the service life of the wire or felt.

Another object of the invention resides in the provision of a circular palm disk normally disposed in a plane approximately normal to the wire or felt engaged thereby, the disk being movable to a plane parallel to the wire or felt if, for any reason, the wire guide mechanism fails to control the sidewise movement of the wire or felt.

A further object of the invention resides in the provision of a circular, rotatable palm disk having an outer wire engaging face formed to present a relatively small area for engagement by a wire or felt.

This invention embodies other novel features, details of construction and arrangement of parts which are hereinafter set forth in the specification and claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a rear elevational view illustrating a rotary palm disk embodying features of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view taken along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a front elevational view of the palm disk, only half of the disk being shown as it is symmetrical about its center line.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 4--4 of Pi 3.

lleferring now to the drawings for a better understanding of the invention, the rotary palm disk 6 is shown as formed from a circular sheet metal blank to provide a central circular concave section 7 merging with an an nular convex section 8 to define a circular ridge at 9, the convex section being, for example, inclined outwardly and rearwardly from the circular ridge at an angle of from approximately 2 to 10, and the diameter of the concave section being approximately half the diameter of the convex section. An annular flange 11 projects rearwardly and outwardly from the convex section 8 to United States Patent 0 space the edge 12 of the disk from the wire or felt at all times.

A hub 13 is secured to the. disk- 6 by silver solder, welding or other suitable means and is bored at 14 to receive an anti-friction bearing 16 having an inner race 17 press-fitted or otherwise secured on the outer end of a stud shaft 18. A retainer 19 is threaded into the hub 13 for engagement against the outer race 21 of the bearing 16. The inner end of the stud shaft 18 passes through an aperture in a, hinge plate 22 and is. secured thereto by means of a nut 23.

The hinge plate 22 is mounted for pivotal movement upon a swivel arm 23' by means of a pivot pin 24, and is normally maintained in a position approximately normal to the wire or felt 25, as illustrated in Fig, 2, by means of a helical torque spring 26 mounted on the pivot pin with its ends engaging the hinge plate and swivel arm, respectively.

The swivel arm 23 is keyed to a shaft 27 journaled in suitable bearings (not shown). A counterweight 28 may be keyed to the shaft to maintain the palm disk 6 in frictional engagement against the edge of the moving wire or felt 25. It will be understood that the shaft 27- is adapted to be connected to any conventional wire guide mechanism operative to move a Wire guide roll to control sidewise movement of the wire or felt during operation of a paper making machine.

During operation of a paper making machine, the wire or felt 25 engages the convex surface 8 of the palm disk 6 to cause the latter to rotate about the stud shaft 18. It will be noted that the disk is provided with a polished outer surface and rotates in a direction corresponding to the direction of movement of the wire or felt 25, thereby offering minimum resistance to movement of the wire or felt.

While this invention has been shown in but one form, it is obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptible of various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the claimed invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a wire guide device for paper making machines, a palm disk having a wire engaging face comprising circular concentric concave and convex areas merging to define a circular ridge therebetween, said disk being normally disposed in a plane approximately normal to the wire engaged thereby, and means coaxial with said areas to support said disk for rotational movement in said plane.

2. In a wire guide device for paper making machines, a palm disk having a wire engaging face comprising circular concentric concave and convex areas merging to define a circular ridge therebetween, said disk being normally disposed in a plane approximately normal to the wire engaged thereby, and means coaxial with said areas to support said disk for rotational movement in said plane, said means comprising a stud shaft having said disk journaled on one end thereof.

3. In a wire guide device, including a control shaft for a conventional wire guide mechanism for paper making machines, a palm disk having a wire engaging face comprising circular concentric concave and convex areas merging to define a circular ridge therebetween, said disk being normally disposed in a plane approximately normal to the wire engaged thereby, means coaxial with said areas to support said disk for rotational movement in said plane, said means comprising a stud shaft having said disk journaled on one end thereof, a hinge member secured to the other end of said stud shaft, and a support arm keyed to said shaft and pivotally connected to said hinge member.

4. In a wire guide device, including a control shaft for a conventional wire guide mechanism for paper making machines, a palm disk having a Wire engaging face comprising circular concentric concave and convex areas, said disk being normally disposed in a plane approximately normal to the wire engaged thereby, means coaxial with said areas to support said disk for rotational movement in said plane, said means comprising a stud shaft having said disk journaled on one end thereof, a hinge member secured to the other end of said stud shaft, a support arm keyed to said shaft and pivotally connected to said hinge member, and means to yieldably resist pivotal movement of said hinge member relative to said support arm.

5. In a wire guide device for paper making machines, a palm disk having a wire engaging face comprising circular concentric concave and convex areas, said disk being normally disposed in a plane approximately normal to the wire engaged thereby, and means coaxial with said areas to support said disk for rotational movement in said plane, said convex area encircling said concave area and merging therewith to define a circular ridge, said convex area extending outwardly and rearwardly from the plane of said ridge at an angle of from approximately 2 to approximately 10, the outer diameter of said convex area being approximately twice the diameter of said ridge.

6. In a wire guide device for paper making machines, a palm disk having a wire engaging face comprising circular concentric concave and convex areas, said disk being normally disposed in a plane approximately normal to the wire engaged thereby, and means coaxial with said areas to support said disk for rotational movement in said plane, said convex area encircling said concave area and merging therewith to define a circular ridge, said disk having an annular marginal flange inclined rearwardly and outwardly therefrom.

7. In a wire guide device for paper making machines, a palm disk having a wire engaging face comprising circular concentric concave and convex areas merging to define a circular ridge therebetween, said disk being normally disposed in a plane approximately normal to the :ire engaged thereby, means coaxial with said areas to support said disk for rotational movement in said plane, said means comprising a hub provided on said disk, an anti-friction bearing mounted within said hub, and a stud shaft mounted in said anti-friction bearing, said antifriction bearing being secured to said hub by a retainer ring sleeved over said stud shaft and threaded onto said hub, and means pivotally supporting said shaft.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

